Five Towns Real Estate Blog

I am sitting here on the cusp of the New Year reading through Active Rain blogs and thinking what I can do to improve my business plan for 2010.

I also just realized that I have a lot of negativism that I think I need to dump so I can start 2010 with a clean positive slate.

To keep it family friendly I will call them my Pet Peeves.

1. Agents who make it impossible to show their listings.

2. Buyers who don't show and don;t have the courtesy to respect your time and call and let you know in advance.

3. Sellers who want to sell, but don't want to be realistic on price.

4. Agents who go after your listings openly BEFORE they expire, a clear violation.

5. Mortgage brokers who give preapprovals to obviously unqualified people.

6. Attornies who don't return phone calls. Around here we have to have attornies draw contracts, order title and take it through to closing. We lose that control after the offer is accepted.

There is the start of my list and I do feel a load lifting off my shoulders.

Smy frown is turning into a smile I am ready to face 2010 with a smile and a matching attitude.

Please add yours here, let's all start 2010 in a positive optimistic frame of mind, and just maybe we can change some behaviors...

YUM YUM YUM

A new Chinese takeoout place opened in the Fortunoff's shopping center in Hewlett, LI, New York a few weeks.

I though ho hum - just what we need here, ANOTHER Chinese Takeout - this makes 4 on a 5 block stretch of Broadway.

Then I heard the owner used to be the guy who did my nails at a naail salon up the road. I had shown him homes a while back.

So we tried it. WOW!!!

It rivals food I have had in Chinatown. One dish was better than the last.

Most Chinese takeouts have the same menu. He has the same menu PLUS Chinese Specialties that you don't get anywhere else locally.

Everything was tasty, fresh and prepared perfectly.

Looking for Dinner tonight? Look no further than MING HING - 1305 Broadway, Hewlett, NY (516) 792-5768

Ask for Steve and tell him you read about it on Donna's Real Estate Blog!!

Maybe I'll see you there.

This was the biggest snowstorm I have seen in years in the Five Towns on Long Island.

We dug out our house and cars, then my parents house and cars. First year in a while my folks haven;t wintered in California, and I think today they might have regretted that choice.

How about you? Take this short quiz...

1. Are you tired of digging out your cars when it snows?
2. Are you tired of the cold weather?
3. Are you tired of searching for lost gloves?
3. Are you tired of the high cost of heating your home?
4. Are you tired of wearing layers of clothing?
5. Are you tired of hearing about your friend's great rounds in Boca?
6. Are you tired of losing golf balls in the snow?
7. Are you tired of ugly brown snow?

If you answered YES to 4 or more of the above questions CALL ME!! It's time to get you our of New York and to the start of the next stage of your live in a warmer climate.

Interest rates are low, The 2010 Homebuyer Tax Credit is NOT just for First Time Homebuyer;s anymore.

Let me tell you how we can help you to make the move. How we can make it easier on you.

In the meanwhile - be safe and keep warm!!

If life gives you lemons make lemonade. If the day brings a blizzard, enjoy the rest!!

We are all braced for the upcoming blizzard.

Errands already run, fortified with snacks from Trader Joes and lentil soup on the stove.

Fire burning in the fireplace, both kids home, board games and Wii at the ready.

Sometimes a forced day off is a very good thing indeed.

Time to reground yourself. Take a deep breath and realize there is more to life than real estate.

To all of us on the East Coast - enjoy the snow and the day off.

Then once it all passes, if you are looking to buy a home on Long Island, give me a call because I am full speed ahead once again...

Loved the title and had to share

From BusinessWeek...

Roth on Real Estate December 8, 2009, 4:01PM EST

If You Don't Buy a House Now, You're Stupid or Broke

Interest rates are at historic lows but cyclical trends suggest they will soon rise. Home buyers may never see such a chance again, writes Marc Roth

By Marc Roth

Well, you may not be stupid or broke. Maybe you already have a house and you don't want to move. Or maybe you're a Trappist monk and have forsworn all earthly possessions. Or whatever. But if you want to buy a house, now is the time, and if you don't act soon, you will regret it. Here's why: historically low interest rates.

As of today, the average 30-year fixed-rate loan with no points or fees is around 5%. That, as the graph above-which you can find on Mortgage-X.com-shows, is the lowest the rate has been in nearly 40 years.

In fact, rates are so well below historic averages that it should make all current and prospective homeowners take notice of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

And it is exactly that, based on what the graph shows us. Let's look at the point on the far left.

In 1970 the rate was approximately 7.25%. After hovering there for a couple of years, it began a trend upward, landing near 10% in late 1973. It settled at 8.5% to 9% from 1974 to the end of 1976. After the rise to 10%, that probably seemed O.K. to most home buyers.

But they weren't happy soon thereafter. From 1977 to 1981, a period of only 60 months, the 30-year fixed rate climbed to 18%. As I mentioned in one of my previous articles, my dad was one of those unluckily stuck needing a loan at that time.

Interest Rate Lessons

And when rates started to decline after that, they took a long time to recede to previous levels. They hit 9% for a brief time in 1986 and bounced around 10% to 11% until 1990. For the next 11 years through 2001, the rates slowly ebbed and flowed downward, ranging from 7% to 9%. We've since spent the last nine years, until very recently, at 6% to 7%. So you can see why 5% is so remarkable.

So, what can we learn from the historical trends and numbers?

First, rates have far further to move upward than downward; for more than 30 years, 7% was the low and 18% the high. The norm was 9% in the 1970s, 10% in the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, 7% to 8% for much of the 1990s, and 6% only over the last handful of years.

Second, the last time the long-term trends reversed from low to high, it took more than 20 years (1970 to 1992) for the rate to get back to where it was, and 30 years to actually start trending below the 1970 low.

Finally, the most important lesson is to understand the actual financial impact the rate has on the cost of purchasing and paying off a home.

Every quarter-point change in interest rates is equivalent to approximately $6,000 for every $100,000 borrowed over the course of a 30-year fixed. While different in each region, for the sake of simplicity, let's assume that the average person is putting $40,000 down and borrowing $200,000 to pay the price of a typical home nationwide. Thus, over the course of the life of the loan, each quarter-point move up in interest rates will cost that buyer $12,000.

Loan Costs

Stay with me now. We are at 5%. As you can see by the graph above, as the economy stabilizes, it is reasonable for us to see 30-year fixed rates climb to 6% within the foreseeable future and probably to a range of 7% to 8% when the economy is humming again. If every quarter of a point is worth $12,000 per $200,000 borrowed, then each point is worth almost $50,000.

Let's put that into perspective. You have a good stable job (yes, unemployment is at 10%, but another way of looking at that figure is that most of us have good stable jobs). You would like to own a $240,000 home. However, even though home prices have steadied, you may be thinking you can get another $5,000 or $10,000 discount if you wait (never mind the $8,500 or $6,500 tax credit due to run out next spring). Or you may be waiting for the news to tell you the economy is "more stable" and it's safe to get back in the pool. In exchange for what you may think is prudence, you will risk paying $50,000 more per point in interest rate changes between now and the time you decide you are ready to buy. And you are ignoring the fact that according to the Case-Shiller index, home prices in most regions have been trending back up for the last several months.

If you are someone who is looking to buy or upgrade in the $350,000-to-$800,000 home price range, and many people out there are, then you're borrowing $300,000 to $600,000. At 7%, the $300,000 loan will cost just under $150,000 more over the lifetime, and the $600,000 loan an additional $300,000, if rates move up just 2% before you pull the trigger.

What I'm trying to impress upon everyone is that if you are planning on being a homeowner now and/or in the foreseeable future, or if you are looking to move your family into a bigger home, then pay more attention to the interest rates than the price of the home. If you have a steady job, good credit, and the down payment, then you really are being offered the gift of a lifetime.

Marc Roth is the founder and president of Home Warranty of America, which touches just about every part of the real estate industry since it sells through builders, real estate agents, title companies, mortgage companies, and directly to consumers.